One of the projects we’re going to start in the new year (or before the end of December this year if we get time) is making our own cheese. We’ve bought a press, which we can also use for cider making next autumn and, apart from a goat or cow, that’s pretty much all the equipment we need (pans and thermometer aside).

So, obviously, we’re reading up on the subject beforehand, and this book – Cheese Making by Rita Ash – is proving to be an excellent starting point. It’s written with beginners in mind by someone with over 60 years’ experience.

It’s split into two distinct halves, with a general interest backgrounder to kick it off, and then specific recipes for various cheeses in the second. There are a lot of familiar favourites to try, such as Cheddar (one of the most difficult, it warns), camembert and halloumi. I hadn’t expected so many cheeses to be suitable for home making, so it’s been a real eye-opener.

We’ll probably kick off with House cheese, which it says is an easy one to start with, but I have to admit to being very tempted by the idea of Wensleydale, which is a Christmas favourite in our house as it goes so well with fruit cake.

It’s not all the recipes that make this book so good, though, so much as the enthusiasm of the author, and the fact that she makes it sound so easy and approachable. That, as much as anything, will give us the confidence to give it a go, and that makes it a good buy indeed – especially at less than a fiver.

Rating:
Author: Rita Ash
Title Cheese Making
Price: £4.98 from Amazon
ISBN: 978-1-84773-461-7

Related posts:

1. We have a cheese-making deadline
2. The mould on our cheese
3. Our home made cheese is getting mouldy as it matures